View source for Second Fall of Minas Ithil

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{{disambig-two|siege in the Third Age|attack that sparked the [[War of the Last Alliance]]|[[First Fall of Minas Ithil]]}}

The '''Second Fall of Minas Ithil''' was the siege and capture of [[Minas Ithil]] by the forces of the [[Nazgûl]] that occurred from {{TA|2000}} to {{TA|2002}}.

==History==
===Prelude===
The [[Great Plague]] in {{TA|1636}} killed a large number of people in Gondor, including king [[Telemnar]] and all his children.<ref>{{App|TA}}, entry for the year 1636</ref> The devastation was such that Minas Ithil was emptied of its population,<ref name=Rings>{{S|Rings}}</ref> the fortresses that guarded the passes to [[Mordor]] were unmanned, and the watch on the borders of Mordor ceased due to a lack of troops.<ref>{{App|Gondor}}, entry for king Telemnar</ref> As a result, evil beings were able enter Mordor secretly.<ref name=Rings/> During the reign of king [[Eärnil II]], in {{TA|1980}},<ref>{{App|TA}}, entry for the year 1980</ref> the [[Witch-king]] reentered Mordor and gathered the other Nazgûl.<ref name=EarnilII>{{App|Gondor}}, entry for king Eärnil II</ref> 

Gondor must have sent a force to reoccupy Minas Ithil by the time the siege began in T.A. 2000, since there were people there to defend it, but the extent to which it was repopulated, and when these efforts began, is unknown.<ref>{{UT|Palantiri}}, third paragraph</ref>

===Siege and capture===
Twenty years after the return of the Witch-king to Mordor, in {{TA|2000}},<ref>{{App|TA}}, entry for the year 2000</ref> men, who had been dominated by [[Sauron]] in his first strength and had wandered homeless and masterless after his fall, now led by the [[Nazgûl]]<ref>{{TT|Pool}}</ref> came out of Mordor by night<ref name=Rings/> over the Pass of [[Cirith Ungol]],<ref name=EarnilII/> and probably also over the [[Morgul Pass|main pass]] in the ravine at the end of the [[Morgul Vale|valley]] in which Minas Ithil was located,<ref name=Rings/> and started a siege of Minas Ithil.<ref name=EarnilII/> It is possible that the [[Tower of Cirith Ungol]] was captured by the Nazgûl during the same night, because the Tower of Cirith Ungol was an eastern outpost of the defences of Minas Ithil<ref>{{SD|Kirith}}, p. 20</ref> and because the vigilance had failed at the Tower of Cirith Ungol and treachery had yielded it up to the Witch-king.<ref>{{RK|Tower}}</ref> Two years later in {{TA|2002}} the troops of the Nazgûl captured Minas Ithil and its ''[[Ithil-stone|palantír]]''.<ref name=EarnilII/><ref>{{App|TA}}, entry for the year 2002</ref>

===Aftermath===
After the capture of Minas Ithil by the Nazgûl, the city became a terrible place, too dreadful to look upon and was renamed [[Minas Morgul]], the Tower of Sorcery.<ref name=Rings/> Minas Anor was renamed [[Minas Tirith]], the Tower of the Guard and there was constant war between Minas Morgul and Minas Tirith.<ref>{{FR|Council}}</ref>

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[[Category:Conflicts of the Third Age]]
[[Category:Sieges]]